Amendment seeks to restore voting rights for 1.5M felons

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - More than 1.5 million adults in Florida are ineligible to vote because they have felony convictions.

Voters rights' groups are hoping to change that Tuesday.

The voting rights restoration initiative is on the election ballot as constitutional Amendment 4.

If it passes, those with felony convictions can have voting rights restored automatically if they've completed their sentences, including parole and probation. It doesn't apply to anyone convicted of murder or sexual assault. Critics say the current process to apply for restoration of those rights is prohibitively difficult and arbitrary.

The ballot measure needs 60 percent of the vote to pass.

Voters rights groups say of the 6.1 million disenfranchised felons in the U.S., about 1.7 million live in Florida.